2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Hillary Clinton Is Now the Presumptive Democratic Nominee [View all]wiggs
(7,814 posts)Bernie will do well from here on out, for four reasons:
1) He has been and will continue to be awesome
2) HRC will begin a pivot to the general election, in terms of rhetoric and spending...thinking that's where the next battle is. She needs to keep talking policy and contrast with Bernie but more and more she'll be contrasting with republicans and talking about Trump. Bernie may benefit with some voters who are just now starting to pay attention and won't see her talking about Bernie's weak spots as much
3) Bernie will being a pivot to the general election too...believing that the importance of the movement outweighs the importance of his own individual campaign and knowing his individual campaign is a long shot now. It will be subtle, because he still needs to solidify his policies within the democratic platform and ensure they get the attention they deserve...but I doubt you'll see from him as much fiery contrast between his policies/history and HRC's. He'll be able to increase the contrast between his policies and those of the GOP oligarchy...the contrast will be stark and will help him. it's a significantly easier case to make and he can let it rip without party consequences. He can and will still make headlines.
4) I feel Ohio, Florida, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina did me and other voters like me a favor and will allow us to vote for Bernie without reservation next month. With the nomination apparently almost out of reach for Bernie (barring HRC disaster), more people can vote with their hearts without thinking about the risk of a Bernie general election battle with Trump or Cruz or Kasich. A vote for Bernie right now is a vote for the MOVEMENT which needs to continue to grow and gain momentum. And I think a lot of people are interested in both the MOVEMENT he started and in securing the WH for dems.